pulps
Beadle's Dime Library No. 399: The New Monte Cristo
"The New Monte Cristo" by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham This serialized adventure novel opens with a young woman of eighteen at a coastal villa on the Atlantic, who recalls her past captivity among wreckers in the Bahamas. That night, a mysterious armed man in sea-rover's attire appears in her chamber. Meanwhile, a lateen-rigged pirate vessel approaches offshore, captained by the ruthless Captain Perdido. His lieutenant, Baricas, reveals he was once heir to the villa; twenty-one years prior, he shot his brother over access to a secret gold vault hidden within the mansion. Baricas later witnessed his brother's ghost guarding the treasure. Now, believing the villa's current inhabitants unaware of the vault's location, Perdido and Baricas lead armed men ashore to retrieve the fortune. The narrative combines Gothic supernatural elements with piracy and hidden treasure, establishing multiple mysteries converging at the haunted estate.